As products become increasingly complex, it is difficult to keep end-to-end manufacturing yield at a satisfactory level. In many testing scenarios, once a failing board is detected at the manufacturing test line, it is sent to another department for repair. After replacement or repair actions have been completed, the circuit board is sent back to the test line. With today's massive production volume and sensitivity to yield, the time available for diagnosis technicians to debug a given defective circuit board is limited.
One of the challenges in repairing defective circuit boards is that the diagnosis software commonly lacks any type of fault isolation capability. This lack of precision leads to an inability to provide unambiguous repair guidance. In many scenarios, ill-conceived repair guidance leads to incorrect repair actions being pursued. The cost to replace an expensive component and, further, the time to retest a failing circuit board can significantly impact the economics of any business model. As a general proposition, effectively addressing these problematic testing issues presents a significant challenge to equipment vendors, electronics suppliers, engineering technicians, and system designers alike.